It has come to my notice that my boys are brand aware. I know, it is not something I should boast about nor is the fact that at a recent Birthday Party when the entertainer was doing guess the TV show tunes my eldest knew the lot within a heartbeat of each starting.
As The Boy got faster and faster at guessing, the party got quieter and quieter and all the other parents started to look around for the bad Mom in their midst. I admit I tried to disown him and pretend he wasn’t mine but when your eldest is doing so well and winning for once in his short life the battle between your chagrin at the fact that now the secret of your parenting technique is well and truly out and your pride and natural competitiveness in the fact that your son is winning, is short.
With everyone now glaring at me and condemning me for my obvious lack of parental control I held up my hand and admitted that yes my modus operandi on the Mummy front was to plonk him in front of the telly at every given opportunity. I will never forget the picture of my beaming son as he clutched his green balloon poodle – his prize for being the best. As for the looks I got from the other parents – I just put that down to envy. Not everyone’s child can be as gifted on the musical front as mine. Lionel Blair eat your heart out he’ll name that tune in one!
Now Bog Boy, my youngest, has also shown a marked proclivity to be able to do a similar trick, in that he is able to name the myriad of film and TV production companies based on the fleeting images at the beginning of the programmes and films he watches and with a disconcerting adroitness either sits down and gets comfy or dismisses the entire programme based on his experience of the production company in question.
So it was with great trepidation that I slid in a new DVD on a wet Sunday morning that had been sent for our family’s delectation as members of Think Parents.
I should not have worried for as soon as the credits came up and the familiar overuture started both boys cried out in unison: “Disney!”
For the next hour and a bit they were entranced by Adam Sandler as the story telling hero of Bedtime Stories while both parents blearily tried to keep up with the tale sipping strong coffee to ward off the effects of the night before and trying not to snort with laughter at the more adult digs and even the more puerile ones involving snot monsters.
And it got me thinking should I be concerned about my boys and the fact that they seem to watch way too much TV etc? Surely its not normal for them to be able to rattle off TV show tunes and production companies with such apparent ease I mean they are only six and three!
Then I thought about my own upbringing. I remembered all too clearly the excitement of watching The Wonderful World of Disney and of how I would be transfixed by the fairytale castle in the opening credits and shouting at my parents to come quick as it was starting. In those days it wasn’t cartoons or films on the show but natural history about the animals: the Grizzly bears and their cubs. I would be lost for the hour the show ran and even today some 35 years later whenever I hear the music a sort of warm comfy feeling washes over me.
And yes on Sunday morning we all of us tried to guess the movie from the clips at the beginning of the DVD. I’d like to say I won but I think I was pipped to the post by the Boys. And do I worry about it? Do I feel I have to apologise? To be honest not really. I like to think that when my boys watch TV/DVDs etc they are discerning and go for quality not quantity – it’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!
12 comments:
oh, Gawd, I hate to say that this is horribly familiar. F10 started a most unaccustomed rant yesterday, all "I'm my own person, you can't control me!" etc and I thought, God, where's he got this crap from? Tracey Beaker? My Parents Are Aliens? T12 is all but married to Akon and is found at strange angles half on/half off chairs moronically watching the great one vocoda-ing. And then there are the ads, the straplines to which all are sadly known, Joanna Lumley now famous for being "posh" and "privileged." Too too shaming. The balloon sounds great though!
No children so can't share/comment on whether it is a good thing or a bad one. But I enjoyed the post and you being flummoxed over it all!
CKx
Childless here too, so cannot possible comment about how much tv is too much. Bet you children also know lots about non-tv stuff!
(Little known fact ... I have sold Adam Sandler gifts for his mother, and taken a very long time gift-wrapping, all the while pretending to be Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually. I cite this just to let you know I do know who Adam Sandler is! xo)
I totally relate to this but then, yesterday found my diary from when I was ten and it was full of what I watched on television. Funny, when I think back I remember playing outside and being active and imaginative!
Nice Disney plug, btw - you'll be on the next trip with any luck!
OK, I REALLY have to get my review up now...
Milla - It may be shaming but think of it as a great start in the understanding of Popular Culture and its application a sure 1:1 at University!
CK - I fear I shall be ever flummoxed...
Frances - visions of you doing the RA bit with Mr Sandler - do hope he hung around long enough to pay!
EJ - but like the Revels ad when he gets a coffee one. I like Disney (just not that sure on theme parks....)
PM - wot you've not done it yet!
Hi Tattie - Never fear, you are one amongst thousands! The first thing my youngest does is plonk herself down in front of Peppa Pig when she gets in from school (ok, ok, she's six and it's for pre-schoolers, but even my older girls find it hilarious - and it's INNOCENT at least). Fact of the matter is, she's tired after a long day at school (often not home till nearly 5pm - or later if we've had to pick up her sisters from their school) and I reckon it's ok to chill. One of my strongest childhood memories is coming home and watching Whacky Races, The Pink Panther, Scooby Doo and Blue Peter. It was just part of the hometime ritual. Rituals are good. Create reassurance. That can't be all bad, can it?
PS: my girls frequently play 'Name that TV programme' on journeys in the car where they take it in turns to start humming the theme tune of a programme. Again, good clean fun in my book.
It sounds as though you have a handle on it Tattie, because you're aware. Nothing wrong with TV watching, in moderation. There's lots of good stuff on and there's something to be said for a brush with pop culture!
Oh God, the sheer snobbery there is with parents and how much TV time is right for their little darlings! I would tend to ignore the halfwits who are all image based and follow their lifestyle choices as dictated by what's cool in magazines!
As long as the kids balance their activities out with some activity and some reading then what the do da should you care. It's the qualityof the stuff they watch that's important more so than the quantity. Studies have shown that children abd adults become desensitized to violence if exposed to it on a regular basis. As long as you are policing their viewing material they will be grand enough! Sleep tight! You are a good mum.
Do you know that they have those Disney nature features on DVD now? I loved the one with the ducks sliding on the ice, a huge memory for me, so I bought it for my grandsons.
I think those parents were all jealous that your son actually remembers the stuff he watches, obviously they (the shows) are not all together mind numbing eh?
I got zero comments on my review of Bedtime Stories! (Hangs head in shame, feels totally awful, I'll get my coat etc. What did I do wrong? Must try harder.) Yours was great btw.
I also wanted to add that the first word my youngest recognised was Tesco. Brand aware? You bet.
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